There is nothing psychic about psychic cold reading. It is strictly a skill that combines very generalized statements that most people will agree to, the ability to read people at a glance and a few tricks of guile.

The purpose of this article, as the title suggests, is to provide a full guide that will get you started in the area of doing “Psychic” Cold Readings for entertainment purposes- that ultimately leads to profit. The system you’ll learn here is quite simple and easy to learn. At the same time will create a foundation upon which you can expand into many areas of psychic reading. Don’t get overwhelmed. All that is in this article is useful and doesn’t have to be learned or applied at once. Remember that it’s like learning to play the guitar and the basics are good enough to be
entertaining

What’s in it for you? Profit and Social Success!

You could apply this skill to earn money doing serious reading with people who come to you to help them with their problems but that isn’t the purpose of this article. Instead you are best to start learning this skill for fun, to meet new people and get to know them.

One use of these skills that has been put to effect quite will is in find raising for nonprofit organizations.

A few years ago I came across a ballet school that would raise money once a year setting up a booth at a city fair as a “gypsy” wagon. The mothers of the students agreed to learn cold reading to help earn the school some income. It was quite a sight. The ballet students, mostly young girls, would dress up in gypsy garb and call people in to get their palms, cards and auras read. Everyone knew it was all for fun and lots of fun was certainly had.

In one day the ballet school earned $1000.

To do this gypsy wagon event they all took a short two hour class in psychic cold reading proving that the basics of cold reading can be learned in a very short time.

You can also apply the skill of psychic cold reading to work at parties and corporate events where you would be hired as entertainment.

Another use of this skill is in meeting people. A few wise men have found that women love to have their palm read and be given psychic readings. These men end up having very active lives operating in social circles where beautiful women eagerly introduce him to other beautiful women. Need I say more?

How To Be Good At Cold Reading

The Hook

It is highly recommended that as a psychic reader you have a story, what some people call “a hook” about how you gained your psychic abilities. It can be very mundane or very dramatic just be willing to tell it whenever someone asks.

A few examples of a good hook are

“I learn to read card and palms from my grandmother who brought is over from the old country. People in our neighborhood would visit her in these secret meetings where she would tell their fortunes. One day she sat me aside to teach me.”

“Even when I was very young I could feel as if there was something beneath the surface of things and when I started to tell people I got into a lot of trouble. Then it became clear that this was gift I have to use with some caution”

“There is nothing about me that I believe is psychic. It’s when I start to talk to people and describe things about them that I had no way of knowing.. then one begins to consider that something interesting is happening. Now, I don’t pretend to know what it is. All I know is that sometimes even I’m amazed at what I describe.”

The Structure of Cold Reading

If you are doing a complete reading for someone it’s good to cover all the topics . The phrase to use as a mnemonic aide is “The Ides of March” or the letter I, M, A, R, C, H Which stand for:

The following paragraphs are samples of what you can say on each of these topics. It is HIGHLY recommended that you memorize, or create on your own a version of each of these paragraphs. The benefit in having these ready at hand is that they will give you a great start to follow up each topic. You’ll also notice that your subjects will tend to be interested in one topic more that others.

As a general rule when you are saying these things you are supposed to sensing impressions or “vibes” so it’s a good idea to throw in “I sense”, “I feel”, “My intuition is telling me…” .

Many people have a standard order in which they do these. If that works for you, great. Other people will cover these topics much more haphazardly.

As you cover these topics they provide a great opportunity to give simple and common sense advise which will easily be accepted in a reading.

Intelligence and Emotion

“You have a very sharp mind. In fact, I sense that you perceive things and think about things on a slightly different level than most people. There are a few things that you will hold very close to the vest because you know some people aren’t ready to know these things in the same way you are. You are one not inclined to put up with others nonsense. While you recognize the value of education in your life you value even more the education you’ve received from based on life experience.”

Money

“I don’t give investment advise, but I sense that in the area of money you are not a risk seeker.”

“Unlike a lot of people I think you’ve come the realization that money doesn’t buy happiness but it does solve a lot of problems. So first and foremost you’ve focused your money on problem solving and then on the fun that it can bring you.”

Appearance

“As a child you were overly critical of yourself and your appearance, never being satisfied with your hair or your complexion. However you began to gain more confidence as you grew older. I would say that you’ve learned a few things about how to deal with theopposite sex and you keep those secrets close to the vest and use them when you need to. A good perfume for you would be Obsession, Cartier, or Oscar de Laurenta.”

Romance

(For women) “You’ve attracted plenty of the wrong type of men. But what you’ve learned is, of course, what you like. Any man you choose to show an interest in MUST have a sense of humor and has to be able to appreciate your off-beat sense of humor. You’ve learned a few things about how to attract men but you remain uncertain how to proceed when you meet someone who seems “out of your league” nonetheless, your best instrument to attract men still remains to be your shy and flirtatious smile.”

Career

“You are a person who is comfortable making decisions. You work easily in a management or supervisory capacity. I see someone who can set goals and more in a forthright manner to achieve them. You are not sick a lot and rarely miss work. One of your biggest professional desires is to be given to opportunity to prove what you know you’re capable of. It would benefit you to not wait to be offered that chance but instead choose to act and genuinely prove your professional competence. This is where you must hold fast to your professional goals and ambitions.”

Health

“You have to understand that I don’t give medical advice so I can’t advise on issues of illness. I can comment on health and the vitality of your body. There is a very good chance that you will outlive your spouse. Because you don’t like taking pills or medications you seem to be healthier that others your age.

The Dark Side of Cold Reading

Some master manipulators combine cold reading with stealthy gestures, energy control and mind spinning phrases that rapidly drop the listener into a dazed trance that last for hours.

There have been several recorded cases of individuals yielding not just bank accounts, credit details, but even their virginity in the hands of such master coercers. Here are some news reports in Indonesia and Dubai.

As an exercise begin to make a list and collect your own list of these statements… and practice, practice and practice.

The Forer Effect exploits g ood generalized statements that most people will agree applies to them.

The Forer Effect is a psychological phenomenon described by Bertam Forer in 1949. The Forer Effect occurs when a very general statement that is said to describe someones personality and the person will most often agree that it is true, remembering the statements that are favorable and accurate and dismissing and forgetting those statements that are inaccurate. This selectiveness of the human mind allows the person receiving the psychic reading to retrofit the information in order to accept it as true.

For example Forer gave a personality test to people and each person was given the same personality description below. When read most people agreed that it was an accurate description of their personality.

“Some of your aspirations tend to be pretty unrealistic. At time, you are extroverted, affable, sociable, while at other times you are introverted and reserved. You have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. You pride yourself on being an independent thinker and do not accept others opinions without satisfactory proof. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety, you become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. Disciplined and controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside.”“Your sexual adjustment has presented some problems for you. While you have some personality weaknesses, you are generally able to compensate for them. You have a great deal of unused capacity which you have not turned to your advantage. You have a tendency to be critical of yourself. You have a strong need for other people to like you and for them to admire you.”

“People close to you have been taking advantage of you. Your basic honesty has been getting in your way. Many opportunities that you have had offered to you in the past have had to be surrendered because you refuse to take advantage of others. You like to read books and articles to improve your mind. In fact, if you are not already in some sort of personal service business, you should be. You have an infinite capacity for understanding people’s problems and you can sympathize with them. But you are firm when confronted with obstinacy or outright stupidity. Law enforcement would be another field you understand. Your sense of justice is quite strong.”

“You often try to leave an impression on your surroundings that you are stern and rigid, while you are actually an emotional and vulnerable person. Sometimes you are bright, communicative and social, but you can turn into yourself, and in those times it is hard for people around you to reach your thoughts. You live changes and dynamic, and lack of freedom can make you discontent, even melancholic and depressive. You know that you are a person that has an attitude and you don’t take random opinions without hard evidence. You have an amazing ability to understand people who surround you and who you love. You also have a well-developed sense for rightfulness, and it is hardest for you to accept human greed and a lack of feeling for others.”

A very useful type of statement to you that is part of the Forer effect is what I call “the half and half”. The Half and Half is saying that you have quality X but you also demonstrate time to have it’s opposite. You can’t lose with this one. “You tend to be outgoing and upbeat but there are times that you need to conserve your energies and spend time with yourself.”

Doing this is not hard, start with your impression of what might be true for the individual you are reading and then conclude the half-and-half statement with “but there are times when…” and mention it’s opposite.

Elements of A Psychic Reading
According to Ian Rowland:

One the best books on cold reading that I can recommend is “The Full Fact Book of Cold Reading” by Ian Rowland. It had long been out of print, but you can download a free copy here

With his book Ian Rowland offers details into what he calls “the elements of a cold reading” and for the sake of brevity and as not to infringe on his work I’ve offered a synopsis and paraphrase of these wonderful elements. With his book, you can be an expert at cold reading under all situations

1) The Rainbow Ruse

This is a statement that credits the client with both a certain quality and its opposite. Forexample: You have a very strong personality that will stand up to people when confronted. On the other hand you can easily look back and remember times that you wish you had been more resolute and faced certain people and situations head on.

2) Fine Flattery
This is a statement that is designed to flatter the client in a way likely to win agreement. Something like You are wonderfully hard working or my favorite You’re a real flirt!

3) The Psychic Credit
A psychic credit tells the client that they have some latent form of psychic ability or unrecognized divine power. A psychic once told me “you are an ascended master”.

4) Sugar Lumps
The sugar lump relates to the clients willingness to be open to the idea of psychic phenomena and it used as a reward for accepting the reading. Example: You have your own very strong sense of intuition and this is why this type of reading can work especially well for you.

5) The Jacques Statement
These are statements that reflect the various stages we go through in life. These include, times like adolescence, rites of passage (anything from first job, first kiss, first relationship, etc.) and crisis that are common to people (lost love, job, death of loved one, dropping out of school). Jacques statements are often vague enough for the client to put their own meaning to. You have found yourself wondering about what happened to your hopes and dreams. or You have a definite strategy for your career but you’ll find that there have been more
unforeseen things in your path than you could have predicted.

6) Greener Grass
A “Greener Grass” element focuses on the an option that the reader did not take. This is something that we all find ourselves pondering at time yet seldom speak about. Example: You are very focused and try to firmly keep your hand upon the wheel, nonetheless, you find yourself wondering about certain options, in career and especially in relationships, that you thought weren’t best for you at the time.

7) Barnum Statements
Barnum statements describe aspects of the client that, in fact, would apply correctly to most people. Examples:
You tend to feel you have a lot of under utilized ability. When you are bothered by someone you make a point of holding your tongue and give them the first option to set things right. When considering your mistakes you give yourself a harder time than anybody. You are your own best, or worst, critic.

8) Fuzzy Fact
A Fuzzy Fact is stated as factual and contains two qualities. First, it is very likely to be
accepted as fact and secondly, is general enough that it leaves room to be developed into
something more specific. Example: I see a very meaningful event that happened to close to a birth day or holiday. or Job or career transition is going to be considered.

9) The Good Chance Guess
This is a guess that has a better-than-normal chance of being correct. Example You were
quite active as a child and people were concerned about your well being. You have a scar on your left knee. (BTW, you would be surprised how accurate that guess is!)

10) The Lucky Guess
A lucky guess is sometime nothing more than a name, location or date that the psychic is
guessing has some meaning for the client. There is no subtlety to a lucky guess. It’s just what is seems, guess without strategy behind it.